


The Dangers of Pride

by everlovingdeer



Series: Harry Potter Short Stories [115]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Pride, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everlovingdeer/pseuds/everlovingdeer
Summary: “Fine.” Elbowing him in the ribs, I frowned up at him when he refused to remove his arm. “Are you this touchy with all of your friends?”“Only you.” He grinned down at me, wriggling his eyebrows. “It’s because I like you the best.”
Relationships: Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Reader
Series: Harry Potter Short Stories [115]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1461751
Comments: 4
Kudos: 301





	1. The Dangers of Pride

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted to other sites on 26/03/18 and it's been edited sightly before being posted onto here

If you asked the students of Hogwarts what their favourite part of the year was, they would probably tell you that it was the train ride to school. And I’d agree with them. There was nothing better than catching up with your friends after a _long_ summer apart. Whilst the train ride took up the largest part of the day, it always passed so quickly that it seemed too short. But, perhaps the undeniably best part of the trip was the trolley that made its way up and down the train. Then again, it wasn’t like there was someone that didn’t like food. 

The only downside to the trolley was that my friends and I had devised a system where a simple game of rock, paper, scissors would decide our fate and choose a single person to get the food. Ever since we’d decided on the system, I hadn’t been caught a single time. But I’d gotten too full of myself and karma came back to bite me in the arse. 

So, as I left our carriage, I tried to remember the long list of snacks and sweets that I’d been asked to bring back. Walking down the carriage, I dodged through the couples who were catching up in the corridor and made a disgusted face. Merlin, there were empty carriages for a reason!

Dodging past yet _another_ couple, I continued on my way towards the trolley only for my steps to slow when I saw the person on their way back from the trolley. Black hadn’t clocked me yet, too busy talking to Pettigrew and I wanted to make sure that remained the same. Rowena, I even contemplated turning around and ducking into one of the empty carriages until he walked past. Except, why would I do that? It wasn’t as if _I_ had been the one to do anything wrong! That was all _him!_ So why should _I_ go out of the way to avoid him? If anything, it should be the other way round!

Straightening my shoulders, I looked ahead and forced myself to walk step by step as if I hadn’t seen the Gryffindor in the first place. I knew the moment he’d seen me; his steps had come to a halt and he ushered his friend away from him. 

“Moore,” Black tried to call out to me, but I played deaf and walked straight past him. He didn’t bother to call out towards me again, and if he had done, I wouldn’t have turned back towards him again. 

Heading straight towards the trolley, I joined the queue for the trolley and patiently waited my turn. By the time my turn had arrived, and I’d collected all the food, I frowned down at the large amount. Rowena, I really _should_ have listened to my friend when they told me that I’d be needing a bag. But because I was stubborn, I hadn’t listened to the well-meaning advice and was forced to walk with arms laden with the sweets. 

Turning around to head back towards my compartment, I actually stopped in my steps. Merlin, he was actually waiting, and I wouldn’t have been arrogant enough to believe that Black was waiting for me, had he not started to walk towards me the moment I’d turned around again. Clearing my throat, I started to walk again and brushed passed Black without a single word. I heard him sigh at receiving my cold shoulder but that was none of my business. If he didn’t want to be ignored by me, then he really shouldn’t have behaved like that last year. 

Black might have been a lot of things – arrogant, bull-headed, stubborn, infuriating – 

He might have been _a lot_ of things, but he knew when to quit. And because he knew when to quit, he knew better than to follow after me. Merlin, I had no idea what I would have done if he had followed me. At least he had that much sense. 

Continuing down the train towards the carriage, I headed inside and immediately started when my friends crowded around me in one go to get their food. Once everyone settled down again, I sat down comfortably in my seat and couldn’t stop my thoughts from straying back to Black. Rowena, he’d had Pettigrew leave him, so he could wait for me and, I assumed, talk to me. But what could he possibly have to say? If he’d been planning on giving me some sort of excuse for his behaviour, then I really wasn’t interested in hearing anything he had to say. Merlin, I couldn’t believe – 

“Are you alright?” Lucy asked suddenly, noticing my silence. 

Startled by the sudden question, I blinked out of my daze and looked at her in surprise. “Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re really quiet.” She frowned, eyebrows furrowed as she leaned towards me, lowering her voice as she asked, “Did something happen when you went to get the food? Did you run into Snape and his group of evil gits?”

“Thankfully I didn’t,” I assured her with a small smile to ease her worries. “Even if I had run into those slimy snakes, I’d be able to handle them. Muggleborn or not.”

“So, nothing happened?” she asked again, just to check. 

“Nothing happened.” Opening a packet of jelly slugs, I held it out towards her and she reluctantly took one. “Believe me.”

* * *

Not even a week into the new school year and I was already sleeping through my alarm. Rowena, that was just so _typical_ of me!

The moment I’d realised that not only had I slept through my alarm but that I’d somehow managed to sleep through breakfast as well, all the sleep left me in an instant. Scrambling off of my bed, I changed into my uniform in record time and quickly brushed my teeth. Slinging my school bag over my shoulder, I practically ran through the school to get to the first lesson of the day. Dodging quickly past the students that lingered in the corridors, I finally turned into the Transfiguration classroom and pegged all my hopes onto the possibility that McGonagall wasn’t there yet.

But of course, there she was, standing at her desk. She looked at the door when it opened, peering at me from behind her glasses and I shuffled a little on my feet. 

“Sorry I’m late Professor,” I apologised quietly. 

“Late to the first lesson of the year,” she started slowly, “ _not_ a good start Miss Moore.”

“Sorry, Professor.” What else could I possibly say?

“Come in and take a seat,” she said gesturing around the classroom to the rest of the students who I realised were watching me. “Take a seat beside a student _not_ from Ravenclaw house Miss Moore, it’s Professor Dumbledore’s new bid at inter-house unity.”

Walking into the room without another word, I scanned each desk and to my utter despair, the _only_ person without a partner that wasn’t a member of my house just happened to be the one person I was going out of my way to avoid. Black realised it just moments after I did and straightened up in his seat. Clearing my throat, I took a deep breath as I walked the rest of the way to the desk. Settling down in the empty seat, I put my bag on the table and sat down for the start of the lesson. 

Making sure to keep some distance between us, I pulled my inkwell and quill out from my bag. My actions slowed slightly when I caught Black turning towards me, looking at me as if he wanted to say something. Side-eyeing him, I warned quietly, “Don’t.”

“Of course,” he agreed quickly, his voice seemingly lacking any emotion. “I wouldn’t want to make you lose your temper, Moore. Not when I’ve been on the receiving end of it before.”

I shot him a look, his statement bringing back some memories against my will. “As long as you know better.”

If you’d asked my friends what my relationship with Sirius Black was, they’d tell you that we were nothing more than schoolmates; we weren’t friends and we _certainly_ didn’t talk to each other. Merlin, there was no reason that they’d think otherwise. There had been no reason for _me_ to think otherwise until I’d found out all about Black’s _generosity_ and the _pity_ he’d shown towards little old Muggleborn me. 

Merlin, I’d been mortified to find out that Black had gone behind my back to buy things for me – because he was under the illusion my family wouldn’t be able to afford them. It had taken months of new textbooks, new robes, new _anything_ appearing on my bed before I’d figured out what was going on. And even then, I wasn’t willing to accept the truth because Rowena, I didn’t even _know_ Black! I could count on one hand the number of times that we’d spoken to one another before I’d gone and confronted him. 

And it was _some_ confrontation. The utter humiliation I’d felt blindsided my rational side – I could admit that now – but still, I’d pulled him away from his friend and cornered him into unwillingly spilling the truth. Of course, he’d tried to deny it at first, and when he realised that didn’t work, he tried to come up with excuses, but I hadn’t been willing to listen to them. Maybe I could have thanked him, but my pride got the better of me and Merlin, I could handle my own business without some entitled pureblood thinking he knew what was good for me. Rowena, I was _sick_ of purebloods telling me that they knew where I belonged!

I could feel myself getting worked up again. Letting out a deep breath, I turned back into the lesson and started to take notes on what Professor McGonagall was talking about. But, I didn’t manage to concentrate for long. No, within minutes the boy sitting beside me had all my attention, and only because he continued to sneak glances at me. Merlin, how was _anyone_ supposed to concentrate.

“Would you quit it,” I hissed at him from the corner of my mouth.

“Quit what?” he asked innocently, and I turned towards him, narrowing my eyes.

“Just pay attention to the lesson Black before McGonagall realises and calls you out on it.”

“No, she won’t,” he assured me confidently, crossing his arms over his chest. “Minnie loves me.”

He smiled mischievously as if expecting me to make some comment on his words. But I did nothing more than purse my lips and turn back to the front of the class. This was going to be a _long_ lesson. 

* * *

No matter how much I thought about it, Black was acting strange. Even now, as I sat at the Ravenclaw table for lunch, I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about how oddly he’d been behaving during Transfiguration. Now, I didn’t know Black very well – or at all, for that matter, but I definitely knew that normally he would have reacted differently to me being so standoffish towards him. He’d have at least said something back to me, rather than presenting me with complete silence and acceptance for whatever I’d said. 

Looking across the great hall towards the Gryffindor table, I eyed the unusually quiet boy who was busy pushing his food around his plate. Only when Potter slung an arm over his shoulder did Black look up with a smile and start to joke about like he usually did. Merlin, what on earth was going on with him? 

“What are you looking at?” Lucy asked as she joined us at the table for lunch. 

“Nothing,” I assured her with a smile, turning my eyes away from Black and onto my friend who didn’t seem to believe me. 

She raised an eyebrow, eyes shifting in the direction of the Gryffindor table and before I could even say anything, she guessed, “Black?”

My mouth parted in shock as I tried to wonder just how she had figured it out. Or was I really that obvious? Whatever it was, I nodded slowly, and she settled down with a sigh. 

“What – what is it?” I asked quietly, turning towards me when I recognised the sympathy that had crept into her tone.

“Didn’t you hear the rumours?” she asked, lowering her voice as she leaned in closer to me. 

“There’s always rumours going round about people,” I shot back, reaching out to pour myself a glass of juice. “That doesn’t exactly mean that any of it is true, now does it?”

“Well this one _is_ true,” she insisted and that was enough to catch my attention. Settling the jug down on the table, I turned towards her with curious eyes. “You really have no idea? Everyone was talking about it?”

“ _It_ being?”

“Black left home.”

“He left _home?_ ”

“He left home over the summer and the Potters took him in.” Lucy shot a glance towards the Gryffindor table, before saying, “I guess the rumours about how he was being treated at home weren’t that much of a lie after all. And for someone like him, it’s a wonder he can walk around with that smile all the time.”

“You shouldn’t talk about someone behind their back,” I chastised quietly, looking back towards the Gryffindor table. 

I was no stranger to the sort of rumours that circulated around the school about the life Black had and what he had to suffer at his parent’s hands. And, and for someone to gather the courage needed to leave that home environment was extraordinary. Merlin, maybe it was time I cut him some slack? He was going through more important things, than worrying about my pride. 

* * *

My sudden knowledge about Black’s ‘situation’ made me feel some unwanted sympathy towards the Gryffindor. And feeling sympathy towards someone else wasn’t a bad thing, but the bad thing was that I realised that maybe that was what Black had felt when he’d started buying me things last year. Maybe it was just a well-meaning way for him to try and help me? Was that what it was?

The sympathy, however, brought with it the guilt that I’d managed to misjudge him and maybe, maybe it was time for me to apologise to him? But _thinking_ about approaching Black was much easier than actually approaching him. As proven by the fact that I'd spent the last few days pondering over whether or not, I was going to approach him. Even if I did approach him, what was I going to say to him? 

_Hey there, sorry I thought you were more of an arsehole than you really are?_

Like that would make him feel any better. Or ease any of my guilt. Not that that was what this was about. At all. 

But, as I headed into the library to finish my essay for Potions, I stopped dead in my steps when I saw Black sat at one of the tables, seemingly working on something. Just that unusual sight was enough to have my mind reeling and I swallowed nervously. Merlin, something had to be _very_ wrong for him to actually choose to be in the library. After all, it wasn’t like he was Lupin.

Although, I _could_ approach him now and manage to actually do something about the thoughts that hadn’t seemed to leave my mind for the past few days. But then again, he _was_ busy working on something. And I didn’t know what he was like, but I certainly didn’t like it when people bothered me whilst I was working. Successfully managing to chicken out of having to do anything, I clutched my textbook to my chest and went to walk away when Black looked up suddenly, his eyes meeting my own. 

I bit my bottom lip hesitantly, watching his eyes widen in obvious surprise at the sight of me. Looking back to his things which were scattered across the table around him, Black moved his things out of the way and gestured for me to take the empty seat across from him. I almost hesitated again, and Black seeing that hesitation, he ushered me over towards the table. 

Merlin, I _really_ wanted to chicken out. But you couldn’t always be a coward. Sometimes you needed to do the things you didn’t want to do.

With slow measured steps, I headed towards Black’s table before settling into the empty chair. Cautiously getting my things out of my bag, I kept my eyes on Black who was suddenly fiddling with his quill and fidgeting in his seat. 

“Black, listen I –”

The first words out of his mouth were an apology that he hurried to get out. “I’m sorry Moore. _Really,_ I am. I didn’t even think that you wouldn’t like what I did. Really, I’m _really_ sorry.”

“Black,” I said again, once he had finished talking. He lowered his eyes to the tabletop, tapping his fingers on the wood as he resolutely avoided my eyes. Playing with my fingers, I cleared my throat before speaking again. “Black, you don’t need to apologise. I let my pride get the better of me and even if I was uncomfortable with your help, I should have at least thanked you for thinking of me enough to do that for me.”

Black hesitantly raised his eyes towards mine as he muttered, “Now, I’m not sure about that.”

“You probably wouldn’t realise it, but not many purebloods tend to think about the way Muggleborns are adapting to the wizarding world.” He looked as if he wanted to protest but I shrugged and added, “It’s the truth, and it’s something I’ve come to accept over the time.”

“Can we just put it past us?” he suggested cautiously.

“We can,” I agreed, “But, there’s just something that’s been bugging me about it for ages.”

He shuffled a little uncomfortably, before nodding. “Go ahead.”

“What made you do it?”

“Ah, that.” He cleared his throat before muttering, “I’m not quite ready to explain that yet. Maybe I’ll tell you someday, but I don’t really think it’s time to do that. But what about you? You’ve been avoiding me like the plague for a while now, so what made you approach me now?”

“I heard something that made me rethink why you might have done what you did,” I explained truthfully, not seeing any reason to lie. 

“You _heard_ something?” He straightened in his seat, raising an eyebrow. “What was it?”

“You’re staying with Potter now,” I started cautiously, and he understood immediately. “But, for someone to go through what you did for so long and to get the strength to leave –”

“No need to flatter me,” he cut in, trying to inflict some comedy into a situation where it really didn’t belong. “You might end up falling for me that way.”

“Isn’t that what you want?” I shot back, deciding to do what he wanted. If he didn’t want us to dwell on the subject, then I wouldn’t do that.

“Maybe,” he said suggestively, meeting my eyes and we both shared a smile. 

Shaking my head slowly, I tried to fight the smile as I looked back to my own essay. “Stop your flirting Black, I need to concentrate.”

* * *

Sorting my misunderstanding out with Black – no, _Sirius,_ led to the beginning of an odd friendship that even _I_ wasn’t sure how it began. One thing I _did_ know for sure was that sitting beside Sirius, had made Transfiguration my favourite subject – by a long mile, at that. It was a little strange actually, how I had managed to fit into the marauders dynamic, quite without meaning to. For instance, Sirius had this habit of stopping in the middle of the corridor to talk to me, if he saw me walking somewhere. At first, his friends had carried on walking and we’d spoken between ourselves. But, as the number of instances increased, his friends had also stopped and talked to me. It had been awkward as hell first, but then I grew affectionate towards all of them. Almost to the extent where my friends were a little jealous about quite how quickly I’d gotten close to them. 

I was making my way back to my common room after a long day of lessons when I found myself apprehended yet again. There I was, minding my own business as I headed down one of the corridors and I happened to spot Sirius and his friends. Sending them a quick wave, I planned on walking right past them, but of course, that wasn’t enough for Sirius who jogged away from his friends. 

Coming to a stop beside me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, steering me further down the corridor. “You’re heading to your common room, right? Let me walk you.”

“Fine.” Elbowing him in the ribs, I frowned up at him when he refused to remove his arm. “Are you this touchy with all of your friends?”

“Only you.” He grinned down at me, wriggling his eyebrows. “It’s because I like you the best.”

“Oh please,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes and moving to shrug out of his arm when I spied the younger Black heading straight towards us. But he wasn’t alone. As we drew closer, I recognised the rest of the horrendous Slytherins walking towards us and Merlin, if Snape said something then I was going to send a hex straight towards his ugly mug. 

The arm around me tightened and I looked up into Sirius’ face, only to find that his old smile had been wiped completely from his face. Looking between the two brothers cautiously, I wondered what the likelihood of getting caught in the middle of one of their arguments was. It seemed that since Sirius had left his parent’s home, the two were always clashing and whilst Sirius always left those arguments raging, he hated what his relationship with his brother had come to. And, if you looked closely at the younger Black’s expression, he didn’t seem to hate his brother like he insisted he did. Not knowing what else to do, I wrapped my arm around Sirius’ waist in the hopes that it would bring him some comfort. 

It seemed to work. The next instant, he looked down at me with this horrendous smile that sent unnecessary butterflies through me as he whispered, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” I whispered back as we carried on, planning to head straight past the group of oncoming Slytherins.

But they didn’t seem to have the same idea. Without a single word spoken between them, the group spread out to block out the entire corridor and I struggled not to narrow my eyes at them. Merlin, I was _not_ in the mood for this blood supremacist bullshit.

“Look,” Sirius started firmly, “I’m not in the mood to duel any of you so just let us pass.”

“Forget not being in the mood,” Avery piped up, “you’re just too much of a coward to try us all on at once. Where’s your Gryffindor courage?”

“Isn’t it cowardly to be trying – five against one?” Sirius removed his arm from around me, hand delving into his pocket where he stored his wand and I reached out to catch his arm quickly. He hesitated at the contact and glared at Avery. “Besides Avery, you ugly bastard, don’t you remember the time I managed to get you all; sixto one and you lot were the ones in the hospital wing? Or would you like me to refresh the memory for you?”

“Sirius,” I hissed quietly, trying to keep him calm. “ _Don’t_.”

“Would you look at that,” Snape drawled, and I narrowed my eyes at him, “Black needs a mudblood to look after him.”

“Are we just going to ignore the fact that _that_ word caused you to lose your closest friends,” I shot back with an annoyed huff. “You can only throw that word around so many times before it stops stinging. You really _do_ need to become more imaginative – no wonder none of you were sorted in Ravenclaw.”

Linking my arm through Sirius’ I went to pull him away when Carrow decided it was best to speak up, “You mudblood bitch!”

With a sigh, I pulled my wand out from my pocket and sent the strongest stinging hex I could muster straight for the twat. He yelped, shooting backwards from the blow and I pocketed my wand with a smile. “I told you, it doesn’t sting anymore.”

The Slytherins crowded around Carrow and I took the chance to drag Sirius away from all of them. Only once we had turned the corner, did I drop my hold on his arm. 

“I think I’m in love,” Sirius announced dramatically, raising a hand to his chest. I scoffed, swatting at his arm but he caught my arm, making me look to him in surprise. 

“Sirius?”

“I mean it,” he said gently, making my eyebrows rise in shock.

“What on earth do you mean?” I asked quietly, all while knowing exactly what he meant. 

“Think again about why I must have done what I did.” He glanced away from me, gesturing down the corridor, “Your common room is just down there. I’m going to head back now.”

And he did. Without giving me a single chance to talk to him, Sirius turned and walked away as if he hadn’t just told me something important. I watched his retreating back for a long moment, struggling to come to terms with what I’d just been told. Merlin’s bollocks, what was I supposed to do now?

I lasted all of two hours before caving. The evening found me searching Sirius out after dinner and I’d ended up waiting outside Gryffindor tower for him to return after he’d finished eating. Merlin, the nosey portrait continued to pester me until Sirius arrived, coming to a halt at the sight of me. He swallowed nervously before grabbing my hand and leading me away from the common room and towards one of the lesser populated staircases. 

He released my hand, making himself comfortable on the stairs and patted the space next to him for me to sit. I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. 

“What is this about?” he asked hesitantly, and I narrowed my eyes. 

“What do you _think_ this is about?” I shot back, “How did you expect me to just let what you said slide by?”

“I did think you’d wait at least a few days before you sought me out,” he admitted, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. “So, what is it you wanted to say?”

“Truthfully?” I asked, biting my lip and turning towards him.

He nodded, “Don’t be nice just because you’re scared of hurting me, Moore. I’m a big boy, I can handle it.”

“Truthfully,” I started slowly, only to let out a deep breath. “Truthfully, I’m not sure.”

“You’re not _sure,_ ” he repeated slowly. “You made a big show of almost getting into an argument with the Fat Lady –”

“I didn’t almost argue with her,” I cut in petulantly. 

“Yes, you did,” he insisted. “You made a big show of waiting for me, only to tell me that you’re _not sure._ Are you being serious?”

“You’re Sirius,” I shot back. He let out an incredulous huff of laughter, shaking his head. “Sorry – I couldn’t let the opportunity slip by. Not when you make that ridiculous pun so often.”

“Fair enough.” He crossed his arms before asking, “So why _did_ you come and seek me out then?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to date you Sirius,” I admitted. “Not yet.”

“Not yet?” he questioned. “I’m not pushing you, Moore.”

“And I know that,” I insisted with a smile. 

“Good. Besides I like spending time with you like this – just talking.” He paused as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just said. “Good Godric, I’m turning into Moony.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“Definitely not,” he agreed, still not seeming able to believe what he’d said. 

“But just because I can’t see us dating yet, doesn’t mean I don’t see us dating.” He raised his eyes towards mine, a smile blooming despite his efforts against it. “Eventually.”

“Eventually,” he agreed. “But just so we’re clear – how long are we talking here?”


	2. Epilogue: 1 Year Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How did this happen?”
> 
> “You should know,” he said with an incredulous chuckle. “You were there.”

_1 YEAR LATER_

A lot had happened in the last 4 hours; I had floo’d over to Lucy’s apartment after realising that I was _late_ and had been for two months now. Lucy, ever the rational friend, managed to calm me down long enough for us to run the test and we sat together, waiting for the test to work. Merlin, I’d almost broken her hand by tightening my hold on it when the potion turned blue. She’d proceeded to hug me close as I broke down into tears caused by just how unexpected this all was. Rowena, two months – two months I had _actually_ been with Sirius! How was this even possible!

Once I’d managed to calm myself down enough to talk, I’d told Lucy that I needed a few days to think about how to tell Sirius – if I was even going to tell him. She had been supportive, up until she’d heard that I might even end up keeping it one big secret from my boyfriend and then from that point, it was impossible to hold her back. She stormed right over to the fireplace and floo’d directly to the apartment Sirius shared with his friends. 

Her actions had been so quick that I hadn’t processed what she was planning on doing until it was too late. I sat anxiously waiting until Lucy returned, followed shortly by _all four_ of the marauders.

My eyes widened at the sight of them, and I looked towards Lucy who rolled her eyes and explained, “Apparently they didn’t trust me enough to only send him.” By him, she meant my boyfriend who was busy brushing the soot off his clothes as he scanned the room. 

The moment Sirius’s eyes settled on me, the blood drained from his face. I sniffled quietly, wondering just how I was going to say anything now. Rowena, what was I going to do! I was too young to become a mother and I guess it was only a small mercy that I’d found out after we left Hogwarts. Even if we _had_ only left Hogwarts a week ago. Merlin, this was all so hopeless. I hadn’t even found a job yet. I couldn’t even support myself, how was I going to support another person!

“Babe,” Sirius called out gently, crouching down in front of me and taking my hands in his. “Have you been crying? What’s going on? What’s the emergency?”

I sniffled again, pulling my hands out of Sirius’s. Rummaging beneath the blanket for the potion, I held the small vial out towards Sirius and his eyes flickered cautiously towards it. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I felt stupid for expecting him to immediately know what the potion was for. But, for some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

Sirius took the vial, looking between it and me. “What is this? Babe? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“It’s a pregnancy test,” Lucy piped up, exasperated by my continued silence. 

Two things happened at once; Sirius froze whilst James burst out into laughter, managing to say between his laughter that he wasn't even surprised. Sniffling again, I looked around the room to find that James had collapsed onto one of the sofas in his laughter. Peter, poor Peter, looked overwhelmed by the news as if _he_ was the father. And as for Remus, he didn’t seem to know which to do first; silence James, reassure Peter that this didn’t affect him, hex Sirius out of his stupor or comfort me. 

Lucy, perched on the armrest beside me, looked down at Sirius with barely concealed irritation. “You’ve managed to knock her up so you’d better do right by the pair of them Black, or else I’ll render you unable to even _think_ about having another kid.”

“Sirius!” I whined, kicking him when he remained unresponsive. The kick seemed to do the trick. He blinked out of his daze, looking up at me in shock and Merlin, the smile that started to grow on his face would have taken my breath away from me if it wasn't _so very annoying._ “How did this happen?”

“You should know,” he said with an incredulous chuckle. “You were there.”

“I just – I thought you’d be better at the contraceptive charm,” I said with a sigh, not knowing what else to say. 

“I spent a year chasing after you,” he shot back, rising to his knees to hug me. I was reluctant to let him hug me and actually tried to push him away. But he held on firm and soon enough, I melted against him and hugged him close. Breathing in his calming scent, I let out a deep breath. “I didn’t exactly have any time to practice the charm, love.”

“What are we going to do now?” I asked against his shoulder, relaxing a little more when he started to rub his hands up and down my back in soothing circles. “This isn’t some Pygmy Puff Sirius, it’s a _baby_.”

“We’ll be fine,” he assured me, drawing away from me and squeezing my shoulders comfortingly. “Trust me.”

“That’s what you said when I offered to cast the spells instead,” I grumbled, scoffing when the corner of his lips curled up into a small smile. 

Rising to his feet, Sirius turned towards James who _finally_ had managed to compose himself. “If you’ve stopped laughing you tosser, you’ll probably know the answer to what I want to ask. How long do you think it’ll take to get a marriage licence?”

“Marriage licence,” I cut in incredulously, rising to my feet and sharing a look with Lucy.

“A week at the earliest,” James said after a moment's thought as if I wasn't protesting in the background. “A month at the latest. You can drop by the ministry tomorrow Padfoot.”

“That’s not what we’re doing,” I protested, my words falling on deaf ears. 

“Don’t worry love.” Sirius reached out to wrap an arm around my waist and looked curiously down at me. “How far along are you?”

“Two months,” I said cautiously, not seeing why that was important. 

“I’ve still got seven months to convince you.”


End file.
